From Camp Nou to San Siro Stadium, great stadiums to protect and preserve

What do the San Siro Stadium in Milan, the Camp Nou in Barcelona, the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, and the Emirates Stadium in London have in common? Certainly, the emotions they evoke, but also their absolute beauty, the blending of form and modernity that transforms a concrete structure into a sacred place for sports lovers. In recent years, football stadiums have undergone a profound renewal process. Among the most iconic, some have been rebuilt, and many others have been modernized. New sports facilities must meet specific sustainability criteria: reducing energy consumption, providing services beyond just matches, inclusion, and technological innovation.

From these principles, ultra-modern stadiums like those that hosted the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were born. For example, the Al Bayt, built by the Webuild Group in the shape of a Bedouin tent and capable of hosting 60,000 spectators, was designed to be partially dismantled after the event. Moving to Europe, the Tottenham stadium, rebuilt with an investment of 870 million euros, offers spectators heated seats, a glass tunnel under the stands to follow players before they enter the field, and a panoramic path on the arena’s roof. The Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid has been modernized with an investment of nearly a billion euros (new roof and fully refurbished and movable pitch). Barcelona, another of the world’s most titled clubs, has decided to renovate the old Camp Nou, which will be renamed Spotify Camp Nou. The concept of preserving historical and cultural heritage now drives many of these sports temple renovation projects, including one of the most famous in the world: San Siro Stadium in Milan, the “Scala of football.”

“When illuminated, it looks like a spaceship landed in a residential neighborhood… It’s hard not to be left breathless.” So wrote the Times in 2009 about San Siro, considered by many one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world. Its history goes back to 1925 when the first four straight stands were built. The stadium project was entrusted to Ulisse Stacchini, who was also working on the design of Milan’s Central Station, and Alberto Cugini. From then until today, the facility has undergone a series of interventions to redevelop and expand it. The first dates back to 1935 when the capacity was increased from 35,000 to 55,000 seats, making it one of the largest stadiums in the world. In 1955, a new project significantly increased the stands to host 100,000 people, later reduced to 85,000 for safety reasons. Since then, San Siro has not been touched until the 1990 World Cup, when a consortium led by Lodigiani (later merged into the Webuild Group) was commissioned to modernize the structure by constructing the third ring and the 11 cylindrical reinforced concrete towers that gave the facility its unmistakable shape. Thirty years after that intervention, the Webuild Group has presented a redevelopment project aimed at preserving this sports icon in line with what has already been done in Europe’s great sports arenas.

The Webuild project plans to work on the existing structure for the sake of modernity and sustainability. According to the project proposal submitted, which is currently under discussion with the interested parties, the work could last three years, during which the structure would continue to function. The project’s principle is the same that inspired the renovation of other major European stadiums, aiming to protect and enhance them as true historical and cultural heritage, not only for football fans but for everyone.